Gas turbine engines include a combustor where a mixture of fuel and air is ignited to complete a combustion process. Air is typically compressed by an upstream compressor system before being provided to the combustor. The combustor receives the compressed air and adds fuel to the air, which is then ignited to produce hot, high pressure gas. After the combustion process, the combustor directs the gas to a downstream turbine through the turbine nozzle.
Because of the heat generated within the combustor during the combustion process, liners are disposed along the combustor wall and are made of materials to withstand the high-temperature cycles. Typical liners are made of metallic superalloys formed in solid cylindrical structures having high hoop strength to surround the combustor barrel housing. However, the metal liners (or metal cans) require significant cooling to be maintained at or below their maximum use temperatures. Instead of the solid cylindrical liner configuration, segmented liner panels have been explored. These liner panels, typically made of, for example, ceramic matrix composites (CMC), may be fitted together around the combustor barrel housing. Although liner panels improve the combustor's ability to withstand the high-temperature cycles, they lack hoop strength integrity when compared to metal liner cans. Also, the interface between the combustor discharge of the combustor with liner panels and the turbine nozzle require complicated interfaces and seal arrangements due to the relative motion between the liner and the nozzle. Therefore, present approaches for mounting a combustor having liner panels to a turbine nozzle suffer from a variety of drawbacks, limitations, and disadvantages. There is a need for the inventive mounting assemblies, systems and methods disclosed herein.